TRENTON — Former Gov. Donald DiFrancesco has paid the state’s campaign finance watchdog $4,650 for campaign finance violations, 10 years after the fact.

While not admitting wrongdoing, DiFrancesco also returned $9,600 in contributions that were above the limit to his 2001 state Senate primary campaign.

The 11 counts against DiFrancesco charged “late filing and non-filing of post-election quarterly reports, non-filing of a final election fund report, late filing and non-filing of contribution and expenditure information, and receipt of and failure to refund excessive contributions relevant to the 2001 primary election.”

DiFrancesco was senate president and ascended to governor in 2001 after Gov. Christie Whitman resigned to lead the Enviornmental Protection Agency. The charges were first brought in 2008, and DiFrancesco paid the fine in August of this year.

The two donors DiFrancesco refunded – John J. Stefani and David J. Samuel — are prolific and well-connected donors. They are partners at CME Associates, an engineering firm with millions of dollars in public contracts, according to public records.